NEWSLETTER
While I don’t think Starlin Castro is lacking for praise this season, his incredible start to the season may have been overshadowed by the hulking presence of guys like Kris Bryant and Jorge Soler and Addison Russell, as well as the Cubs’ overall performance.
On the year, Castro is hitting .352/.375/.481 with a .376 wOBA and a 140 wRC+. Moreover, he’s been doing that as the team’s shortstop – and he’s been playing really well defensively.
From Castro’s manager to his teammates to the man, himself, everyone sees that Castro is doing great things defensively, which is well-timed given the emergence of Addison Russell, and the Cubs’ needs at second base. Castro has the talent to be at least an average defensive shortstop, if not better. And, at 25, there’s still room for growth.
Combine that with his scorching hot offensive start, and I’d argue that, to the extent you can make such pronouncements through 13 games, Castro has been giving an MVP-type performance (on a team full of ’em).
Here’s hoping Castro keeps up the defensive work, even as some of the offensive numbers are likely to come down just a bit (though not necessarily a ton if he keeps making contact with 94.9(!) percent of the pitches he sees in the zone).
And now a couple Castro defensive highlights from the last few days:
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